Coal India

Coal India is the government-owned coal mining company.

The World Coal Institute states that "almost all of India's 565 [coal] mines are operated by Coal India and its subsidiaries, which account for about 86% of the country's coal production. Current policy allows private mines only if they are ‘captive' operations, i.e. they feed a power plant or factory. Most of the coal production in India comes from opencast mining, contributing over 83% of the total production. Coal India employs some 460,000 people and is one of the largest five companies in India."

Coal India reports that its annual coal production has grown from 79 million tonnes in 1975 to 360.9 million tonnes in 2006-2007.

Major Coal Mining Subsidiaries
The U.S. Geological Survey estimates coal production from major wholly Coal India owned subsidiaries in 2006 as being :
 * Bihar Coking Coal Ltd which operates in Bihar and West Bengal and has an annual capacity of 26 million tonnes;
 * Central Coalfields Limited Ltd which operates in Bihar and has an annual capacity of 27 million tonnes;
 * Eastern Coalfields Ltd which operates in Bihar and West Bengal and has an annual capacity of 21 million tonnes;
 * Mahandadi Coalfields Ltd which operates in Orissa and has an annual capacity of 21 million tonnes;
 * North-Eastern Coalfields Ltd which operates in Assam and has an annual capacity of 640 million tonnes;
 * Northern Coalfields Ltd which operates in Indian Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh and has an annual capacity of 24 million tonnes;
 * South Eastern Coalfields Ltd. which operates in Madhya Pradesh and has an annual capacity of 36 million tonnes;
 * Western Coalfields Ltd. which operates in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra and has an annual capacity of 18 million tonnes;
 * Neyveli Lignite Corp. Ltd. which operates in Tamil Nadu and has an annual capacity of 17 million tonnes of lignite.

Environment Minister approves sixteen coal projects
On February 11, 2011 India's Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh approved a total of sixteen new coal projects that were on hold due to environmental regulations. Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal stated that the environment minister’s okay of Coal India's proposed coal mine projects was due to pressure from higher levels in the Indian government. The Coal Minister also stated that environmental regulations are one of the reasons why the growth of Coal India – which produces 80 percent of the country's coal – dropped to 2 percent in 2010, compared to 2009's figure of almost 7 percent. However, the Coal Minister said the areas off limits to coal mining would remain off limits, despite the likely increase in the country's coal use.

On March 10, 2011, Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal said his ministry had received environment clearance in writing for 14 Coal India projects. Elaborating on the project, an official with the ministry said of the 14 projects, five are from Mahanadi Coalfields Limited and three each from Eastern Coalfields Limited and Western Coalfields Limited. Two are from Bharat Coking Coal Limited, and one is from South Eastern Coalfields Limited.

Coal India identifies 142 possible coal projects
In April 2011 it was reported that Coal India and the U.S. are considering encouraging equity partnerships with offtake in expansion projects, long term offtake arrangement and equity in new projects. Coal India has identified 142 new projects, comprising 35 under ground and 107 opencast, for ultimate capacity of 380.22 million tonnes, with an estimated capex of $7.7 billion. The alliance, they said, is crucial to tackling reserve constraints in India's exploration of coal.

Coal India in Discussions with U.S. Companies
It was announced in November 2011 that Coal India was in talks with Peabody Energy and Massey Energy about acquiring two of the companies' mines. Coal India has budgeted $1.2 billion to buy assets in the U.S., Indonesia and Australia during the year ending March 2011 as it battles a widening gap between domestic coal supply and demand.

In May 2011, Coal India said it wanted to buy a stake in Massey Energy Co.'s Sidney Underground Mines, and is awaiting a response from the U.S.-based company's new management on the potential deal. Talks on the deal stopped after Massey reached a $7.1 billion cash-and-stock deal in January 2011 to be acquired by Alpha Natural Resources. Some environmental issues related to the operations of the underground mine also led to the halt in discussions. As of end 2007, Sidney Underground Mines had proven and probable coal reserves of 73.06 million tons and 54 million tons, respectively, according to Massey's website. In addition to Massey Energy, Coal India is in talks on buying stakes in coal mines, among others, with Peabody Energy Corp. and Indonesia's PT Golden Energy Mines. For now, its only overseas reserves are two coal blocks in Mozambique.

Mozambique
In January 2011, it was reported that Coal India plans to import 10 million metric tons of the fuel from Mozambique in the next five years, where the company has prospecting rights to two blocks in the northwest of the country measuring 225 square kilometers (87 square miles). If viable deposits are found, the company intends to invest $400 million and employ 3,000 people to extract them. Coal India also wants to secure rights in five other exploration blocks, and export the coal to India through the port of Beira and perhaps - after 25 years - the Nacala port.

Coal terminal
According to a July 2010 company statement, Coal India plans to invest in its first port terminal to handle imports to help meet increasing demand for the fuel. The company intends to build a terminal in a venture with Visakhapatnam Port Trust in southeast India by 2013 with a capacity to import as much as 6 million metric tons annually. Coal India also intends to form a joint venture with NTPC, Asia’s second-largest power utility by value, to buy the fuel from overseas.

Going public
In the largest ever initial public offering on the Indian stock exchange, Coal India offered 10% of its shares to investors at home and abroad in November 2010. Coal India's prospectus, crafted with the help of big-name investment banks, did not mention climate change once in its 510 pages. Investors responded, and the offering was oversubscribed 15 fold, with the stock soaring on the first day of trading, November 4, valuing Coal India at $49 billion. Those ending up owning stock included 484 foreign funds, 195 mutual funds, 44 insurance companies, and many banks. Many of these investors were using ordinary citizens' money - people mostly allowed no say in where their pension funds, insurance premiums, and banking deposits are invested.

Contact details
10 Netaji Subhas Rd, Kolkata, W.B-700001, India Phone: 033-2248-8099 Phone: 033-2243-5147 Fax: 033-2243-5316 Email: telecil AT cal2.vsnl.net.in and cil AT wb.nic.in Website: http://www.coalindia.nic.in/

Related SourceWatch Articles

 * India and coal
 * India and nuclear power